


I Luh Ya, Puppy

by TalesFromPerdition



Category: teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, F/M, M/M, Pack Bonding, Puppy Piles, Scent Marking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 03:50:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3104528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesFromPerdition/pseuds/TalesFromPerdition
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek doesn't know why Stiles keeps petting the pack - and why the pack wants to touch Stiles - but even more so, Derek doesn't know why Stiles never touches him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Luh Ya, Puppy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EnigmaticNarwhal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnigmaticNarwhal/gifts).



> Beta'd by BowtiesAndDeductions. Honest to god, she is my muse. She sent me a few snapchats today and then this happened. And while I'm well aware this isn't my usual fandom (nor is it my best work), it was nice to get on the saddle again.
> 
> The fic, and title, was also inspired by JLo's song "I Luh Ya, Papi." When I heard it the first time, I couldn't help but hear "puppy."

Derek always knew that Stiles was better at the whole pack thing than he was. It didn't start out that way, of course. When Derek was a kid, he remembered nights when instead of going to their rooms at night, his mom and dad spread blankets out on the floor. Derek's younger cousins elbowed their way closer to him, nuzzling their faces against his shoulder or stomach, taking comfort in his scent.

He remembered how Laura's arm made the best pillow; although Cora had always been fond of trying to lay over everybody, trying her best not to let a single inch of herself touch the floor.

At school, they were always shoulder-to-shoulder, a casual elbow bumping against a side or a playful shove toward a locker. Only Peter acted as if the whole thing was undignified, and maybe Derek should have guessed that Peter was evil earlier.

Only an evil person could deny themselves the pleasure of pack bonding.

Of course, that would be the thought that had been forced into his thoughts now, as he watched Scott, Stiles, and Isaac playing xBox on Stiles' couch. Derek wasn't even entirely sure why he was there – Isaac had dragged him along with a half-assed idea about some strategy against a vague, but likely deadly threat the Argents had been talking about – but there hadn't been a single word uttered about anything even remotely supernatural with the exception of Stiles complaining about Isaac and Scott's unfair advantage.

"You guys suck," Stiles said as he was killed for the umpteenth time. He sighed, tossed the controller on the table and leaned back. He was quiet for a moment, waiting for his character to respawn, when his eyes suddenly opened and shifted to Derek. "Hey, you wanna play?"

"What?" Derek bit out in annoyance, angry that his time was apparently being wasted.

"Take my next turn," Stiles said, sitting up to retrieve his controller. He stood and moved his way around the couch – Scott smacked lightly at his side to get him out of the way faster – and Stiles was grinning as he held the controller out to Derek. "I'm gonna make some popcorn."

"You'll get the controller all buttery," Isaac complained.

"Dude, it's  _my_  system.  _My_  controller.  _My_  problem," Stiles shot another friendly grin at Derek before he left the room. For a second, Derek didn't move his guy on the screen after he respawned, but he was quick to sit on the floor closer to the TV and play along.

When Stiles came back, they all sat in silence for a few moments. It wasn't until he could smell the happiness rolling off Isaac in waves from the other side of the room that Derek raised his head and looked at the beta.

Stiles was sitting on the arm of the couch, and Isaac was leaning back into him. The controller was nearly abandoned in his lap, his eyes closed, and a dopey smile was taking up most of his face. It took Derek a second to realize it, but one of Stiles' hands was buried in Isaac's hair and he was scratching at the beta absentmindedly.

After another beat, Scott turned and looked at him too.

"Bro… seriously?"

"What?" Stiles said, grinning. After a moment he switched, wrapping his arms around Isaac, his hands working up and down the other teenager's arms. Stiles buried his face in Isaac's hair, nuzzling into him as if he had a clue about scent marking and how important it was to pack. Isaac had a grip on Stiles' knee, looking like he would be rubbing himself all over the human if he were in a better position to do so. "The puppy just needed a bit of love."

"Stiles," Derek warned, more as a force of habit. He wasn't angry, as he was stunned.

"C'mon," Scott said, pushing closer to them. "Share the wealth."

Derek stood up around the time that Isaac had pulled Scott onto his lap, running his wrist all over his face while Stiles leaned over, trying to rub his best friend's belly. For a long second, he watched the three of them with a heavy heart, wondering silently to himself if he was allowed to join in.

In the end, he left. It was safer than either forcing himself into the situation or standing there awkwardly until they stopped.

* * *

 

He noticed it again the next nice day when he had the pack training outside. At first, they were doing as they were asked – and more efficiently than usual – until Erica did a particularly great job avoiding one of Boyd's fists. Derek could smell how proud of herself she was, and just as he was about to speak up to praise her, she ran over to the shady tree where Lydia and Stiles were looking through the Bestiary.

Stiles couldn't have been paying attention to what the pack had been doing, but when he looked up at Erica and saw her expression, he held his hand up to her. It was all the invitation she needed.

Erica dropped to her knees, nearly forcing Stiles hand into her hair for a second before she wrapped her arms around him, rubbing her face up against his neck.

In seconds, the entire training session turned into chaos as Isaac, Scott, and Boyd ran to, and crashed into, Erica and Stiles. Lydia yelled – not banshee, just surprised – as they knocked into her on the way. Somehow, Lydia ended up pressed against Stiles' side, and he patted her shoulder with one hand, Boyd was gripping his other hand as the bigger man scented his wrist.

Once Stiles had petted all of them to their heart's content – except for Derek, he did occasionally look up at their fearless leader, but he never once reached toward him or asked him to join in – the teenagers sort of just fell asleep lumped together, arms wrapped around each other. Erica was just like Cora, her torso draped over Lydia – who was sitting up and reading the Bestiary again – her knees over Isaac, and her head resting on Boyd's stomach. Scott was half on Isaac and half on Stiles.

When Derek took a deep breath in, he knew he should smell his betas first. They scent marked a human and a banshee, but despite that, the air smelled like Stiles.

It was the first time Derek realized that while he may be the alpha, this wasn't really his pack entirely.

His pack, his  _family_ , had always deferred to their mom for orders, but everyone went to his dad – his  _human_  dad, the alpha's chosen partner – for praise and comfort.

Stiles looked up at Derek with a goofy grin of his own on his face. "Sorry, man," he said, scratching his fingers over Scott's scalp. "I didn't mean to wear your puppies out."

"It's okay," Derek said, but his voice felt raw.

"You could… I dunno… take a breather too, if you want," Stiles said, nodding toward the pile of bodies under the tree. "Alphas take naps, right?"

"I… uh…" Derek started, and Lydia snorted, looking up at him as if she could read right through him. It wasn't safe to be around here, with someone with the potential to be a true alpha laying over what would likely be his emissary – because despite the fact Stiles played the alpha's mate's role so perfectly, Derek could never see that happening, and not all emissaries were as distant as Deaton – with a pack of betas that were  _his_ , and a banshee. Instead, Derek just shook his head and moved his way back to the house.

He remembered piling together with his family in that house.

He couldn't stand the thought of seeing his new family, his new pack, piled together outside without him.

* * *

 

Derek wasn't surprised when Scott became the true alpha, nor was he when he lost his own alpha status. He was a better beta, anyway. It didn't bother him that Scott was reluctant to have a pack, that he was nervous and wanted Derek there to help him out with it. Derek had been terrified to learn it all on his own, and he was more than happy to help Scott out.

It was one night, long after training, when the pack had settled down onto the floor in Derek's house – the renovated space that was the Hale house – snoring softly. Stiles wasn't down there with them, but Derek could hear him puttering around in the kitchen, doing dishes from their big pack dinner.

That wasn't really fair, because Stiles cooked. The rule had always been in Derek's family that whoever cooks doesn't have to do the dishes.

He just looked over at the pack –  _his_  pack, even if he wasn't the alpha of it anymore – then walked to the kitchen to help Stiles.

"The mistake's sleeping?" the human asked, shooting Derek a friendly grin.

Derek rolled his eyes but nodded, grabbing a hand towel, passing it to Stiles as he pushed against him with his hip, moving him away from the sink. It was only little touches like this, borderline violent, that Derek had ever gotten from the new co-leader of the pack. Stiles dried his hands, then started drying the plates.

"His name is Liam."

"I know his name," Stiles said, still smiling. God, it was like he combated every problem with freaking smiles. No wonder the pack went to him for comfort and love. "But I think we also need to think up some sort of werewolf condom for alpha teeth."

"A werewolf would bite through…"

"I  _know_ ," Stiles groaned. "It's not out of prototype yet."

The pair of them washed and dried the dishes silently for a few minutes. Despite the fact that Stiles had been complaining about Liam – about one more puppy to potty train, as he sensitively put it – Derek knew that Stiles enjoyed it. He could hear his heartbeat when he was in the middle of a pile of warm, docile werewolves, and he could smell how Stiles enjoyed their soft pets and occasional licks as much as they did when they scent marked each other.

Even Liam, who was angrier than Derek, would melt into Stiles the second the older teen pulled him into a hug and forced the dangerous werewolf who couldn't control the shift into his warm, delicious smelling neck.

The only one who hadn't ever had the pleasure of receiving any affection from Stiles was Derek.

"You look unhappy," Stiles commented, almost nonchalantly. "You're the only one who ever looks like puppy piles are torturous."

_Only an evil person could deny themselves the pleasure of pack bonding._

"I'm not in there with them."

"Okay, first, ouch," Stiles shot him a look, but Derek kept his eyes on the soapy water. "I'm not  _that_  bad, I don't think. And second, then why don't you go in there and join them? I know they want you to."

"I…" Derek started, then shrugged.

"Do you not like them?" Stiles asked aloud, and Derek shut his eyes. He knew Stiles well enough to know that once he started asking questions, he started trying to answer them. "Is it all the smelly teenage bodies with all the pheromones? Because I totally don't blame you there. Sometimes, I'm not sure Scott showers for, like,  _days_. But none of the other pups complain about it. Shouldn't that smell like pack to you? Like family?"

About two seconds after Stiles asked the question, he sucked in a breath, sat the plate down on the counter, and held the towel out to Derek. The older man did not want to take it, but for some reason, his body did anyway.

"Oh, my God, Derek, I am so sorry," the teenager said, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder. It was as natural for Stiles to comfort with physical touches as it was the wolves anymore, and as soon as he touched him, Stiles drew back. "And… I'm sorry for that, too. I didn't mean to start anything, and I didn't mean to bring up old memories. God, I should have just kept my hands to myself, but they all looked so  _sad_  and whenever Scott was bummed about his dad we'd touch each other – er, I mean not like  _that_  because ew – but you know, like the pack bonding stuff. And Jesus, I must sound like a moron. You must hate me for starting all these cuddlefests."

"Stiles," Derek said quietly, reaching a hand out to him. Stiles took it instantly, without a second thought, and brought it toward his face, drawing Derek's wrist over his nose and mouth. It must have been second nature to the human by now, but the way his eyes remained on Derek the whole time, looking for any sign of discomfort, proved to Derek that this wasn't some autopilot comfort.

Stiles paid attention to each of the betas and Scott. He usually went for Isaac's head, but Boyd's back, Scott's stomach, and Erica's hands. He knew how each of the betas liked to be scented back by him, know how each of them liked to be touched and comforted.

How long would it take Stiles to learn what Derek needed?

After another few heartbeats, Stiles reached one of his hands up, cupping the back of Derek's neck. For a second, he thought the younger boy was drawing him in to kiss him, but then Stiles tilted his head back, guiding Derek's face into his neck just like he had with Liam earlier, and Derek lost it.

His arms wrapped around Stiles' waist tight enough to crush him if the little sound of protest was any indication. So Derek forced himself to let up a little and pushed his nose into Stiles' neck. For a long moment he just breathed in the scent of Stiles and pack, but then that wasn't enough. Feeling him, scenting him. Derek had been left out for months, and he really needed to make up for lost time.

He wanted  _his_  scent on Stiles to be the most prominent, even though somewhere back in his head warned him that he wasn't the alpha anymore. He had no right to want that.

When his tongue came out, tasting a patch of skin across the human's jugular, he heard Stiles' heart pick up, smelled the shift in emotion, and felt the human push against his shoulders. He backed up, just enough to see the amber eyes. From the look on Stiles' face, he knew his eyes were blue and he closed them, trying to regain control.

"Please don't lick me, Derek."

Derek's eyes opened again, and he heard the high, pained sound of his own whine leave his throat. He knew something was wrong when Stiles didn't immediately call him on it, but looking at the younger boy didn't offer any clues as to what it may be.

"Why? The others… I've seen Isaac lick you."

"I know, but… That's Isaac, dude. Not you."

Derek's fingers tightened on Stiles' body and he frowned. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's  _wrong_  with you." Stiles looked away, and Derek heard his heartbeat, smelled the growing scent that had been changing in Stiles. When the younger boy looked up, his cheeks were pink. "You're seriously going to make me say it? Use your werewolf powers of deduction, Sherlock, and save me the embarrassment."

The smell, and the blush, and the…

"You…"

"You never wondered why I never touched you?" Stiles asked Derek's chest. "That's like, rule number one, I think. You can't ever touch anyone you actually like cause they'd know, and with freaking werewolf senses, what chance did I have at hiding shit from you?"

Derek lowered his head again, breathing over Stiles neck. He felt the way the younger boy gripped at his sides, and he could smell it. God, he remembered thinking it was strange that over all his betas, he smelled Stiles the most but how could he not?

He smelled like how his dad had smelled, like comfort and home and  _love_.

Derek's tongue darted out, tasting Stiles' neck again.

"Derek…"

"You don't have to hide it from me," Derek said, breathlessly. The smell of himself mixed with Stiles was intoxicating.

"Yeah, I see that now, but I also don't want to be walking around with a boner all the time 'cause you're marking up my neck and I…"

"I'll take care of you," Derek said, biting down with his blunt, human teeth.

Stiles made a delicious sound, his hips moving forward against Derek's without his consent. "I hope to God you mean what I think you mean." Derek hummed his agreement – he was pretty sure they were on the same page with the way Stiles was reacting – and Stiles laughed. "Damn, if I'd have known this was the reaction I would have gotten, I would have made us the alpha couple back when you were actually the alpha."

Derek froze, moving back from Stiles and scenting the air behind him. He could hear the breathing of the pack, their heartbeats, and they were all still sleeping.

"Shit, Derek, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to bring that up… please…"

"No," Derek said, gripping Stiles' arms. "I don't care about being the alpha, but I have to ask Scott."

" _What?"_  Stiles nearly yelled.

"You're his pack. You're high ranking in his pack, higher than me. I have to ask his permission…"

"Oh, fuck no, are you asking Scott McCall anything that has to do with me," Stiles growled, and at the tone of it – how wolflike and full of authority he sounded – Derek found himself biting his lip and submitting. Stiles likely didn't realize the power he held, not with Derek's desire to be in a pack and follow ranks again, because the next minute, his hands were on the sides of Derek's face, holding him still while he moved in.

And this time it was for a kiss.

Despite the authority Stiles started with, his kiss was more timid, like he lacked the confidence at this stage, like he wasn't sure if he was doing it right. Derek could feel his insecurity, and he couldn't stand the smell of it. So he paused and waited for Stiles to take a breath. When he kissed him again, he moved slowly, pushing his tongue against the human's lips, trying to get him to open up. Stiles lips parted, and Derek drew his tongue out again, tasting Stiles' breath on his lips.

Stiles was a natural after that.

After a few, long moments of kissing in the kitchen, Derek pulled back at the sound of one of the betas, Liam, sighing and rolling over. It reminded Derek that his alpha was out there. It seemed so much easier to bring people home to meet his mom; asking his teenage alpha for permission to date his best friend seemed so much scarier than that.

"So… now that  _that_  happened, do you still not want to roll around with the pups and get some shut eye? Cause, I mean, I'm human and I sleep about a thousand times better when I'm surrounded by those furnaces, and I think it may be beneficial for you to get a good night's sleep too," Stiles started, but then stopped, wiggling his eyebrows in a way that Derek thought Stiles thought would be attractive. It was, but not for the same reason. "Or if you can't sleep with them, I could keep you company tonight."

Derek reached his hand out, taking Stiles' and leading him toward the living room. It wasn't like they spent every night like this – Boyd and Erica had been dating for months and they never missed bonding time – and now that Derek knew that he could, that he was welcome, he couldn't miss it again. Not even for whatever Stiles may be offering.

If Stiles took any offence to that, he didn't show it.

When Derek lay down on the outskirts of the pack with his back to Erica and dragged Stiles down to his other side, a shift happened instantly. He heard the sniffing sounds, and within seconds, the rest of the pack had moved around them, so they were both in the center of the pile. Erica was no longer behind him but somehow on top of him, draped over everyone else, and the hand around his waist was definitely Scott's.

His alpha was curled up next to him on one side, and Stiles was breathing happily against his neck. Derek never thought he could ever feel like this again.

It was a few minutes later, when the rest of the pack had fallen asleep, that Derek felt Stiles shift, brushing his fingers against the rest of pack one more time. Finally, he moved closer to Derek, kissing his neck, slurring sleepily, "I luh ya, puppy."

Scott laughed, put his forehead between Derek's shoulder blades, and fell back asleep.

Derek squeezed Stiles' hip, and had the best sleep of his life.


End file.
